Question About Ankle Weights - from a new diver

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

ketchupkm

Guest
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I'm currently taking an open water certification class and just finished my first two confined water pool dives today. My knowledge about diving is limited to just a few class sessions.

When I got in the water with all my gear on, 7 mm wetsuit, fins, boots, etc, I was having a few issues with my feet consistenly wanting to float up. This was rather uncomfortable for me and I was not having any fun at all. My dive instructor loaned me a pair of his ankle weights. When I put them on it was like night and day, much better and I was able to enjoy the rest of the class! I need to purchase a pair of my own ankle weights before my open water dives next week.

I went to pick up some ankle weights from my local dive shop, but they did have a few different styles. As a new diver, I'm not quite sure what I should be looking for when selecting ankle weights. Basically there were two styles to pick from. One was a Seasoft ankle weight with the weight portion sitting behind the ankle (or perhaps I have it backwards and all the weight is supposed to lie in front of the ankle, I'm not really sure). The other style was sort of like a tube with the weight distributed evenly around the entire ankle (can't remember the brand name on this one). The one my instructor loaned me was the tube style and it seemed to work out ok for me. I was just wondering about the other style (the Seasoft one) because that's the one the guy at the dive shop recommended to get (both were about the same price and both came in 1 lbs, 1.5lbs or 2 lbs). My only concern with the Seasoft style is that since the weight is not distributed evenly and i may have trouble kicking the fins. Or the weight may slide around to the side, i don't want to have to be constantly adjusting it.

Just wondered if anyone had any recommendations of which style to get for a new diver with almost no diving experience. I don't want to tire quickly if I have to work hard kicking my fins (i tire quickly enough on my own as it is). Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
When needed, I prefer to put students in the Seasoft ankle weights, primarily because they can be tightened/loosened to fit, resulting in less flopping around on the ankle. Otherwise, they are a little easier to poke a hole in, which usually leads to a loss of lead. YRMV and both will do what they are supposed to do.

Many divers start out with ankle weights, most find that they eventually learn enough to not need them. Proper buoyancy and trim are important and do whatever it takes but ankle weights can tire your legs, goof up your kick and foster a feet-down pitch in the water. Like training wheels on a bicycle, ankle weights can make learning faster but they can also lead to a dependency that interferes with true mastery.
 
Ankle weights are fine, but you should strive to avoid them. Every pound you put on your legs will tire them out when you need to kick. What you have discovered is that in addition to getting correctly weighted, you also need to get correct trim.

Instead try a couple things to see if you can eliminate the need for them. First slide your tank down in the band. This will move some weight toward your feet and make them less floaty. Second, most BC's have pockets that are used to adjust trim. If you have any weight in the upper trim pockets (near the shoulders) take it out and move it to your weightbelt or integrated weight pockets. If you are renting your BC, you can try a different style. You are probably using a jacket style BC. Try a back flotation BC it will make you more horizontal in the water. Lastly, you can try switching to a steel tank, which has very different buoyancy characteristics in the water (it is always negative). This will take about 5lbs off of your belt/pockets and will redistribute your weight.
 
When I put them on it was like night and day ...

Night and day is hard to argue with. Do what feels most comfortable to you ... but keep on learning. Some will say (and they may be right at their stage of diving) that angle weights imply a problem.

Don't concern yourself with that. Get in the water in as comfortable a fashion as you can. As you progress, your "night and day" weights may not feel as good and you may choose to change your configuration. That's SCUBA.

Dive a bunch. Listen to your instructor (your "listening" after awhile may lead you to believe they don't know as much as you thought if you're doing research ... in that case get a new instructor). Feel comfortable in the water. Consider the DIR configuration after awhile and after 30+ dives consider taking DIR fundamentals (and that advice is from someone who is not DIR). In any event, keep progressing. If after 35ish dives you are still destroying the reef, do anything but what you are doing .. PLEASE. :D
 
When I got in the water with all my gear on, 7 mm wetsuit, fins, boots, etc, I was having a few issues with my feet consistenly wanting to float up. This was rather uncomfortable for me and I was not having any fun at all. My dive instructor loaned me a pair of his ankle weights. When I put them on it was like night and day, much better and I was able to enjoy the rest of the class! I need to purchase a pair of my own ankle weights before my open water dives next week.

I went to pick up some ankle weights from my local dive shop, but they did have a few different styles. As a new diver, I'm not quite sure what I should be looking for when selecting ankle weights. Basically there were two styles to pick from. One was a Seasoft ankle weight with the weight portion sitting behind the ankle (or perhaps I have it backwards and all the weight is supposed to lie in front of the ankle, I'm not really sure). The other style was sort of like a tube with the weight distributed evenly around the entire ankle (can't remember the brand name on this one). The one my instructor loaned me was the tube style and it seemed to work out ok for me. I was just wondering about the other style (the Seasoft one) because that's the one the guy at the dive shop recommended to get (both were about the same price and both came in 1 lbs, 1.5lbs or 2 lbs). My only concern with the Seasoft style is that since the weight is not distributed evenly and i may have trouble kicking the fins. Or the weight may slide around to the side, i don't want to have to be constantly adjusting it.

Just wondered if anyone had any recommendations of which style to get for a new diver with almost no diving experience. I don't want to tire quickly if I have to work hard kicking my fins (i tire quickly enough on my own as it is). Thanks in advance for any advice![/QUOTE]

Being that you are brand new diver you have a little ways to go before you become extremely relaxed in the water. This in itself can cause you to use a little more weight.

I had a student that came in the shop and bought a 7mm one piece for confined water classes. He said he was cold natured and we had to go to ankle weights to keep his feet down.

Just remember as you start diving a little deeper the water will crush the neoprene and you may find that you don't need the ankle weights for proper trim. But clearly it's a different story in 10 feet of water.

I have a set from Walmart that I let new drysuit students use when they're in the pool. They have removable weight pouches so they can adjust for their trim. After a little training most give up the weights.
 
Echoing everybody else, I'll say that ankle weights are great to help you in the beginning, but other gear adjustments and some experience with technique will probably eventually make them unnecessary. But they aren't that expensive, either, so it's reasonable to use them to start out. I would highly recommend the kind with a snap in closure, rather than a velcro closure, because the Velcro ones easily come off, especially as the Velcro gets older and tired.
 
The good thing about ankle weights is that, later in their life, you'll see them used for all kinds of other things - tank weights, spare weights to loan to a friend, wedged at the base of a tank in your truck so it won't roll around, and then, eventually, in the SB classifieds. :D

I used to have a pair of SeaSofts (snaps), and they were nice.
 
Do what you need to do, but target a time when you don't need them. I was actually given a set of SeaSofts by the LDS I taught out of when I bought a drysuit, being told I would need them because of the difference in diving a drysuit. I don't remember where they are now...but I tried them once and never used them again.
 
I have used the same Cordura nylon lead shot Velcro type ankle weights for about 10 years. I have never had problems with trim prior to using them, nor now. My reason was to get some weight off my belt especially during hiking. I strap them on securely so the weight is facing out (not front or back), but they flop into any position while kicking. I do not really noticed them while kicking and they do not seem to tire me or cause any problem. But I swim 2-3 thousand yards a few days each week at a local Junior College. I have been using the Mares Plana Avanti fins with 2 channels for over 15 years. I am considering purchasing some new split fins which may change everything.

I free dive and SCUBA dive Mendocino, Monterey, Carmel, water temp 48-54F with a one piece tridensity 9/7/6mm wetsuit. My rig is a SS Backplate/40lb Oxycheq Mach V with HP100 steel tank. I'm set-up where I can just take off my BC and free dive without having to remove weight from my belt. I use the ankle weights for both free diving and SCUBA diving. I will look into a different style ankle weight where it is more evenly distributed around my ankle after I upgrade my fins. Please tell me what you think about the tube type once you try them out more. Thanks.
 
My wife started with floaty feet and we bought the seafoft - ring style - ankle weights. If was funny, but after about 10 dives, she had relaxed enough and was able to work out her trim issues such that the ankle weights were no longer needed. And like everyone else has said, this is weight that you want to lose as quickly as possible as you will gain efficiencies.

There is no harm in buying them as a new diver, but it will likely be a purchase that you will find yourself using short-term.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom